Christian McCaffrey Placed on Panthers IR; Out at Least 3 Games With Hamstring Injury

AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman

The Carolina Panthers placed star running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve Saturday due to a hamstring injury.

According to Joe Person of The Athletic, that means McCaffrey will miss at least the next three games.

McCaffrey is one of the most dynamic players in the NFL when healthy, but injuries have taken a toll on him over the past couple of seasons.

He was limited to just three games during the 2020 campaign due to ankle and shoulder injuries, and a hamstring injury has cost him two games so far this season.

McCaffrey was off to another strong start in 2021, but the hamstring strain suffered in the first half of Carolina’s Week 3 win over the Houston Texans knocked him out for the remainder of the game and landed him on the shelf afterward as well.

Now, McCaffrey will not be eligible to return until the Panthers’ Week 9 game against the New England Patriots.

In the games he has played, McCaffrey has registered 201 rushing yards and one touchdown, as well as 16 receptions for 163 yards so far this season.

The 25-year-old superstar was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft, and he has lived up to that lofty status thus far.

McCaffrey showed what he could do in 2019 when he finished with 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground to go along with 116 receptions for 1,005 yards and four additional scores.

With that, McCaffrey became only the second running back in NFL history to record over 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in the same season, joining Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk.

McCaffrey is a massive part of Carolina’s offense, and there is no question the dynamic changes when he is out.

With McCaffrey out for the foreseeable future, quarterback Sam Darnold and the passing game figure to be featured even more heavily.

Also, rookie running back Chuba Hubbard is in line to start in McCaffrey’s absence with Royce Freeman also getting some opportunities.